7 matches of the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
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"I don't mind repeating everything."
MS Dhoni
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"But eventually it is a game of cricket."
Sachin Tendulkar
The first day I walked into the stadium, I got to choose from four tables, two on either end of the massive field. The other photographers didn’t regard me much. I chose to walk around the perimeter to the other end. The summer heat poured down and hot black marbles jumped into my ankles as I dragged my feet along the artificial ground. Everything was so wide, the bowl of the coliseum spilled up all the way up into the sky. The professionals took the tables closer to the exits, the TV cameras and the dugouts. On the other side, with nothing much to note, I was the only photographer. I got a table, a chair, an umbrella and extension cords all to myself. If I wanted to, I could move 40 yards over to my left and sit in the same isolation. And there was a boxed lunch.
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I spent my days taking long, slow walks around a magnificent oval, hoping my tiny cameras could translate the spectacular combination of so many vast, complicated things. It's always remarkable to me how accurately these unfeeling machines can read the physical world around us. Unfortunately, my preference for wider lenses made it particularly difficult to capture the actual cricket match in front of me. It’s tough when the players are all so spread out, so far out of reach. Luckily, there were always more people in the cramped well with me. And if I ever got bored looking side-to-side, I could always turn up and around and see far too many people all looking right at me. Well, not really, but anytime I turned to look back at them, they would all suddenly notice and come alive with this electric glint in their eyes; two cameras swinging atop Photo Vest 15. It forces one to turn their head down, look away, start wearing sunglasses. That gaze, constantly looking down upon you, flattening you into the hot astroturf/green. And then the next ball comes, and we all turn to face the action.
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This piece was originally published for 14 East Magazine on Apr 18, 2025. All photos by Varun Khushalani.